Corn Fritters (and other critters…)

One of my favourite things about corn fritters (other than how delicious and easy they are), is the word “fritters”! It’s just so fun to say… “fritters!”.

I came across the idea when I was looking for recipes for my parents’ 30th anniversary brunch in March and I’ve been itching to make it again ever since. The first time I made it I added bacon and avocado, but since I didn’t have either on hand I figured I would try something else this time!

I have visions of putting cobs of corn on the barbecue right before cutting all the kernels off and adding it to the batter. That would add a sweet smokiness to the fritters – yum! Yes, I am definitely doing that next time… because there WILL be a next time.

You can make these corn fritters as an appetizer and keep it light, OR you can certainly turn it into a full meal too! A stack of corn fritters on a bed of arugula, topped with lots of grilled vegetables and a side of spicy sausage sounds like the perfect summer dinner to me, that’s for sure.

I used spelt flour for the batter because it lends a nutty flavour and grainy texture to the corn fritters. I also find that it makes the edges nice and crispy when frying the fritters in olive oil.

To add extra flavour and texture to the meal I whipped up a creamy topping of plain greek yogurt, feta and spices to spread over the fritters. While I was mixing it up I was thinking to myself: “This could be a complete disaster (and waste of precious yogurt and feta!), OR it could be the best thing to ever happen to my dear fritters”. Lucky for me the latter was the case and it even exceeded my expectations. Derek always laughs when I go on and on about how delicious one of my recipes are, the way that you would rave about someone else’s food, but in this case it is 100% warranted.

As an additional topping, I tossed some thinly sliced tomato, green onion, salt and pepper in olive oil. Man I love pan fried tomato with some S+P.

It is just now occurred to me that this recipe would make a wonderful Saturday breakfast too! Kind of like savoury pancakes.

You will need:

For the batter:

1 cup of spelt four

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp sugar

2 eggs

1/4 cup of milk (I used almond milk)

1-1/2 cups of sweet corn kernels

1/2 cup of finely diced red pepper

1/4 cup of diced green onion

olive oil for frying

For the topping:

1/2 cup of 0% plain greek yogurt

1/4 cup of crumbled feta

a dash of olive oil

a couple pinches of cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

thinly sliced tomato

diced green onion

arugula

How to:

Heat the oven to 210F to keep the fritters warm as they come off the stove.

For the batter, combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and make a well in the center.

In a smaller bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together – slowly add this mixture to the dry ingredients and whisk together.

Next, add the corn, red pepper and green onion (or any other diced veggies you want to add). Mix it all together.

In a large frying pan, add a splash of olive oil and use a large spoon to scoop the batter into the pan, forming little fritters (about 3 inces in diameter).

Fry for about 5 minutes on low-medium heat and turn over to cook the other side.

Serve the fritters on a bed of arugula, topped with the yogurt mixture and fried tomato and green onion.

Alrighty, now enough about fritters – I have some completely unrelated, but painfully adorable critters to show you!

This would be the family of racoons living in our backyard – so cute, right?! They like to play outside in the morning, before sleeping the rest of the day away. The racoon to the right is the mama (or so we think), and just look at how she is hanging over the branch! They have the perfect situation going: a big hole in the tree with a little “deck” for playing right above it.

Now, I know what you guys are going to say: they are just trouble. And I know in a few months time when they are bigger and more confident and we are sitting out on the deck they will be annoying (and scary!). And that the muggy summers’ morning when we wake up to find the contents of our garbage can strewn all over the sidewalk will not exactly be very cute.

But seriously – they are adorable and we love watching them! Check out this little guy hanging out of the hole with his front paws neatly tucked beside him. I love their little black masks!